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No mods in Gears of War PC?? EPIC please respond

"Gears of War will also ship with an editor, although don't expect to completely overhaul the game with a new mod, as the utility has been tailored for creating your own multiplayer maps - the PC-from-the-ground-up title Unreal Tournament III is Epic's flagship mod-maker."

This is a huge problem for me as I hated the gameplay for Unreal Tournament III in the beta demo and don't plan on making any custom content for it if the game turns out like I think it will. So my only other option was Gears of War for PC. I've already started assets and put in a bunch of time making high resolution models to create normal maps which is a hell of a lot of work.

So according to this we can't make a Capture the Flag mod, or regular Deathmatch mod? Now I am concerned, will I even be able to make 100 percent custom maps with my own content. Static meshes, textures everything. Thats what I want to do. There is no good reason to have UT3 be your only Mod making game. Why would EPIC do this if its true? If it is and I can't get custom work into Gears of War then I will never buy another game from EPIC. This is coming from a gamer who followed them and bought all their games since UT99. I bought an xbxox 360 for Gears of War. A regular xbox for Unreal Championship 2 as well. EPIC please respond!

This will kill the mod community for Gears of War. I don't like UT3 and was waiting for it for years in anticipation and now what I consider the only option for me to use Unreal Engine 3 is being gutted/locked out so people can't make new gametypes and the ability to make custom maps with your own content is now in question.

Please clarify or I will have to cancel my Gears of War PC preorder, I already cancelled my UT3 preorder. I seriously hope this isn't true and EPIC needs to come out and adress this and set the record straight. As an aspiring game designer/game artist this is very bad for me and many other people in the mod community, If this is true mod makers will freak out on you EPIC and it won't be pretty. PLEASE RESPOND!!!!!

"...People can now take all the assets that we used to build the game, and start creating your own environments, and start sharing them on the PC. And people playing competitively making great multiplayer arenas, maybe singleplayer content, maybe CTF mods, things like that. Who knows what they're going to do."

It would be quite fool-hearted to not have a full featured editor and be able to bring custom content into the game.

That's a loss for everybody to restrict what type of custom content can be brought into the game.

If I look back over the history of the Unreal Engine, I go back to an Unreal Engine 1 game called Deus Ex and it wasn't restricted as to what could be brought into it and there was a couple of great mods made for it --RedSun 2020 and Zodiac.

So, as armagon917 stated, please don't put a noose on the editor and bringing custom content into the game, its a loss for everybody.

Anyway I'm sure ya'll be able to make mini mods on GoW PC, but if your into making something closer to a total conversion mod, UT3 will be the game. I think what they'll end up doing is disabling alot of current UnrealScript features, nothing more.

I understand why they're doing this and I think its for a good reason.

Well I personally love the gameplay of UT3.
...I understand why they're doing this and I think its for a good reason.

I didn't see any reason listed as to why they are doing this, and I'm having trouble coming up with a good reason on my own, so please ellaborate. If it's just to force the mod community to focus on one game, that seems kinda contrary to the spirit of mod-making to begin with...which is supposed to put the power of creative choice in the peoples' hands.

I also have BIG plans to make a Gears of War TC mod, and have been in pre-production on that for some time now. This statement really throws a wrench in the works, because while I was planning on doing some asset sharing with a similarly themed UT3 mod, my main design focus is on Gears. I want to create a 3rd person cover shooter, not a FPS. And unless Epic is going to ship UT3 with full support for the Gears cover shooter mechanics, moveset, and camera system, my plans are screwed. Modding UT3 from scratch to become Gears of War is way too much work to seriously undertake.

EPIC, please say it ain't so. Gears of War is the closest thing to my ideal gameplay template that I've seen in years, if not ever. Put the power of this fantasticly well-balanced mechanic in the peoples' hands and watch what amazing innovations come out of it. UT3 is fine, and amazing mods will roll in for it. But the Gears audience is looking for a different experience, and I believe that both mod-communities can flourish while feeding each other, especially with asset and knowledge sharing across the same engine.

well they don't want the mod community change the essence of the game.
You see, they give you the tools(almost all) to mod whatever you want for the unreal engine. however making new game modes like ctf, a battlefieldish game mode or whatever isn't what they allow us to do, simply because it would make the game totally worthless. Just think about it, unreal tournament 3 and gears of war use the same engine, you can make whole games if they'd give us 100% acces to all tools.

I didn't see any reason listed as to why they are doing this, and I'm having trouble coming up with a good reason on my own, so please ellaborate. If it's just to force the mod community to focus on one game, that seems kinda contrary to the spirit of mod-making to begin with...which is supposed to put the power of creative choice in the peoples' hands.

I also have BIG plans to make a Gears of War TC mod, and have been in pre-production on that for some time now. This statement really throws a wrench in the works, because while I was planning on doing some asset sharing with a similarly themed UT3 mod, my main design focus is on Gears. I want to create a 3rd person cover shooter, not a FPS. And unless Epic is going to ship UT3 with full support for the Gears cover shooter mechanics, moveset, and camera system, my plans are screwed. Modding UT3 from scratch to become Gears of War is way too much work to seriously undertake.

EPIC, please say it ain't so. Gears of War is the closest thing to my ideal gameplay template that I've seen in years, if not ever. Put the power of this fantasticly well-balanced mechanic in the peoples' hands and watch what amazing innovations come out of it. UT3 is fine, and amazing mods will roll in for it. But the Gears audience is looking for a different experience, and I believe that both mod-communities can flourish while feeding each other, especially with asset and knowledge sharing across the same engine.

Sounds like we are in the same boat. I'm choosing Gears of War because I believe the gameplay is much better then UT3. This isn't a UT3 thread and I'm glad you like the new UT Kronos. (star trek fan?) I would make a map in UT3 but its hard to be passionate about a map for a game in which you hate the core gameplay.

Whats scary about this is we both have already gone into pre production and now there are doubts about what the editor will be capable of. Its the mod makers who are your future level designers, environmental artists, and game designers. This isn't just a terrible thing for people making mods. Its terrible for people buying Gears of War for PC as there may be a mod for it that takes off like CounterStrike or Rocket Arena. It hurts the game and the industry as a whole. EPIC please clear this up.

well they don't want the mod community change the essence of the game.
You see, they give you the tools(almost all) to mod whatever you want for the unreal engine. however making new game modes like ctf, a battlefieldish game mode or whatever isn't what they allow us to do, simply because it would make the game totally worthless. Just think about it, unreal tournament 3 and gears of war use the same engine, you can make whole games if they'd give us 100% acces to all tools.

Capture the Flag for Gears of War would be awesome, how would that screw up the game? Nobody is forcing you to download or play the mod. BUT its there for people who want to play it. The mod community is what keeps many online games refreshing. You have it backwards. All the normal game modes and maps will still be there. Its not like the core game will be completely different because that remains untouched. What mods and a full toolset allow you to do is make an optinal game mode like CTF or DM along with all the other game modes. Its optional so how can it screw up the game?

You can create a 3rd person cover based shooter in UT3, your mod doesnt by any means have to be a first person shooter.

I have no doubt that this will be possible. My point is that it's an unneccessary and HUGE amount of work to undertake to compensate for the fact that I can't mod Gears of War. I'm looking to do something as a fun hobby, with the skillset of an artist. I'm not looking for the biggest possible workload I can take on, in fact, I want the opposite. Gears represents the closest thing to my target experience, therefore it is my desired starting point. Having to mod another game to first get to Gears' level is way beyond what I would consider taking on.

Like I said, unless Epic includes the full Gears moveset and cover system with UT3, I'm screwed in this respect.

Well honestly I think EPIC will release it in a full version with maybe a few strings attached. Im sure they wont mind watching Marcus Fenix run around a starship in space or send him into a rain forest. Im sure EPIC would give you guys a full version to go crazy with im just thinking that they just dont want you to change the core features of the game(which I heard some people mentioned doing). Like they might not want you to remove the AR and tweak the cover system or Roadie run. However making CTF, S&D, Deathmatch doesnt seem like a huge problem or something EPIC would try to stop.

brdempsey: thanks for the link, there was good info in the IGN article.

Total Conversion is what I'm hoping for...based on the interviews and media that have been released so far, it's hard to say whether or not it will be possible. I guess we'll have to wait and see if anything further comes out of EPIC on the subject.

"Epic will ship the exact same toolset that it used to create the game, along with all of the content used to build the game, so fans can experiment, tinker, and create their own unique levels and mods."

In the past Epic has been fairly good about supporting the MOD community. I hope they wouldn't back out on that now. But I wouldn't worry too much. So far, more articles than NOT indicate that the full Unreal editor will be included with the game.

In an interview at Gametrailers.com, Cliffy B said that the game will ship with the latest version of Unreal Engine 3 with all the tools. And he also said that he is very excited to see what the modding community may come up with for Gears of War (he was particularly excited about seeing a CTF mod for Gears). So yes .. the game does support mods.

My old signature has been overshadowed by the greatness of all the awesome signatures seen everyone. It no longer wants to show its face in public .

The original concern was based on this quote from a recent article about PC Gears of War: "Gears of War will also ship with an editor, although don't expect to completely overhaul the game with a new mod, as the utility has been tailored for creating your own multiplayer maps - the PC-from-the-ground-up title Unreal Tournament III is Epic's flagship mod-maker."

What this implies is that Epic will not be allowing complete mod access to the game like they are with Unreal 3. That is what we are hoping to get clarification on.

So no, the answer is not blindingly obvious, it is clouded by contradictory statements. I hope Gears will allow full mod access, and can't see any reason why it shouldn't, but going off of this statement, I am led to believe that mods will be allowed within tighter restrictions than Unreal 3 mods will be. If that's the case, it would be great if EPIC could post what those restrictions are.

its looks pretty good,
i wanna be able to mod and bring my models from 3ds max in the game,
only thing i wanna really know,
does anyone know this yet,
Thanks,Chris

little update i found on the gearsofwar.comhttp://gearsofwar.com/News/Gears_PC.htm
New game editor. The game will also feature the all-new game editor, guaranteeing new user-generated content in the future. The Gears of War community will be able to tap their endless creative potential to develop an unlimited number of user-created levels through complete access to the Unreal Editor. Players can now import custom artwork into the engine, create particle systems, scripted encounters, cinematics, and more.

Well it's fast if you use the original assets, but if you want to make your own models, textures, anything, it'll take time.

If I had a new computer and all the materiel I needed. I'll learn and build a badass level. I've wanted to build games like everyone when they were kids and I, still do.
I already got the concept art part down. Now I just need to learn how to use 3d software so I can build stuff.

I don't think you guys fully comprehend the power of Kismet. I've looked at it and worked with it in RoboBlitz, and let's just say you will most likely be able to build any game mode you want with that tool.

What that interview meant was that we won't be able to access the code of the game to make mutators and Total Conversions, like you can with UT3.

What that interview meant was that we won't be able to access the code of the game to make mutators and Total Conversions, like you can with UT3.

Right then, that's my concern! I'd like to do a Gears TC mod. So based on your understanding of it, what exactly will be allowed...
-swapping in new character models?
-Adding or modifying the Gears moveset?
-Making new weapons?
-Creating and importing new terrain models?

I'm not sure about the models. Frankly, it'd be tough to match the quality of Epic's work to begin with, so that might not be the smartest idea.

I'm not quite sure what you would want to do by modifying the moveset? What's the point man? Gears of War is a great game as is. It's a much more solid, a much more tighter experience than UT3 could ever hope to be, that's Epic's reason for only allowing you access to the map editor and not UScript. They don't want the community changing things that affect the core gameplay.

I doubt you could create new weapons, a lot of that is done using UScript, so no.

Terrain is done in the editor, not using a modeling program, so no worries on that,

I'm not sure about the models. Frankly, it'd be tough to match the quality of Epic's work to begin with, so that might not be the smartest idea....I'm not quite sure what you would want to do by modifying the moveset? What's the point man?

Thanks for the concern. I'm a professional 3d modeler, so I'm not worried about the quality bar. It's at the same place it is for my job, and I've been working on the models for some time now. Besides, fear of hitting a quality bar is not a legitimate concern, in my opinion. Just keep working on things until they're done. It's a hobby, no time constraints. The sky's the limit.

And remember, when you're talking to modders, you're talking to people who love the base games, but see ways they'd like to tweak things to make a slightly or drastically different experience than the base game offers. I love Gears of War, have played through it on the xbox, and have played a whole lot of multiplayer. I don't want to make a mod that "fixes" Gears, because I don't think it's broken. But put in the context of the Total Conversion mod I want to create, there are some changes that I need to make to the moveset. Namely, expanding the melee options a bit.

At the least, I need to be able to do player model and weapon swaps. Most games in the past 10 years have allowed mods of these types.